[Vision2020] Religious Diversity Education

[Ted Moffett]

Luke et. al.

Again, you adopt an extreme interpretation of how much we all must think and 
act the same before chaos engulfs us.

What you are saying is truly frightening in the stereotyping and 
oversimplifications you make of complex issues!  If you can't see that this 
sort of extreme thinking is what leads to wars, then you need religious 
diversity education desperately.

Remember my comments on the rules of basketball differing and being changed 
yet the game is still played according to rules with people enjoying the 
sport?  How can the NBA and the NCAA have differing rules yet both leagues 
play in an organized manner?  They don't wage battles to force one league to 
play with the same rules as the other league.   Hey, this basketball 
metaphor is your creation, so if the reality of how basketball is played 
does not fit your worldview, you should have picked a different metaphor.

So why can't the Islamic and Christian communities each have their own 
religious "league" and play their game, and leave the other league alone?  
After all, both are monotheistic religions who accept Christ as an important 
spiritual figure.  Why must the existence of these two religions demand one 
win over the other?  Why can't they coexist in peace?

Because of people who think like you!

And applying this to Democrats and Republicans, they are both mostly 
Christian in their beliefs, as are most of the members of the US military, 
so I don't know where you get the idea that Democrats are non-Christians and 
Republicans are commonly Christians, this must be more of your extreme 
stereotyping at work.   But there are differences of opinion that are 
debated and argued and a compromise is reached.  Democracy is not a pretty 
and efficient machine, but it is constructed here in the USA in theory to 
prevent any one group from gaining total control of our government or 
society.

It appears from your comments that you do not respect the principles of 
democracy, you want us to all be singing your tune, and any disagreement on 
religion or ethics will be met with a hysteria based on a fear of chaos and 
disorder.

This is fascist thinking, plain and simple.

BTW, I know very well the world is not all fine and dandy, and those with 
rigid irrational views of how we all should think and act the same, are a 
large part of the reason.

Ted

>From: "Luke" <lukenieuwsma@softhome.net>>To: "Ted Moffett" 
><ted_moffett@hotmail.com>, thansen@moscow.com,   donovanarnold@hotmail.com
>CC: vision2020@moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Religious Diversity Education
>Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 22:17:43 -0700
>
>Mr. Moffet:
>
> > You imply the US military is somehow amiss in offering a religiously
>diverse
> > support system for the men and women who fight to defend us?  So a man 
>or
> > women who is risking their life for us who happens to be Islamic or 
>Jewish
> > or Hindu should not receive this religiously diverse support?
> > What "reforms" are you suggesting?
>
>     The teaching of the truth, of course. Unless we all say and believe 
>and
>act according to the same ideals, we cannot function together. Look at our
>nation; you have Democrats, the largely non-Christian liberals who have
>adopted "loose" standards, and you have Republicans, the commonly Christian
>conservatives who still have semi-rigid standards of decency and morality.
>And at times the nation is simply chaotic.
>     Practically every president since Reagan (and some before him, too) 
>has
>had a constant war with a Congress led by the opposing party. The reason?
>the two main groups have radically different beliefs. It has become so that
>whenever one party initiates a particular movement, no matter what the
>movement may entail, you can count on the other party doing their level 
>best
>to negate any progress made. Yet this is only one example of the morality
>clashes that we have all the time.
>     The world isn't all just fine and dandy like you make-believe. We 
>cannot
>all "just get along" and believe what we want to believe. There are endless
>clashes; the problem isn't that people just don't tolerate each other, it 
>is
>that their beliefs are inconsistent with others. That is why there have 
>been
>so many religious wars, that is why there is such a rift in this nation. 
>And
>there is an answer to this problem.
>
>
>  All the best,
>Luke Nieuwsma
>
>
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